STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS AT Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o.
Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB Hotel
Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB Hotel
Short version
I. INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
In view of the legal obligation arising from the provisions of the Act of May 13, 2016, on Counteracting Sexual Crime Threats and Protecting Minors and ensuring appropriate protection for minors during their stay at hotel establishments, Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o., based in Warsaw, introduces the following “Standards for the Protection of Minors,” hereinafter referred to as Standards.
The Standards for the Protection of Minors at Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB are implemented based on the principles listed below:
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB operates with respect for the rights of children as particularly vulnerable individuals.
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB acknowledges its role in conducting socially responsible business and promoting desirable social attitudes. Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB specifically emphasizes the legal and social obligation to notify law enforcement authorities of any suspected crime against children and commits to training its staff in this regard.
Whenever the Standards mention:
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. – refers to Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o., Plac Europejski 1, 00-844 Warsaw, a company registered in the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw in Warsaw, XII Economic Division. KRS 0000988535, NIP: 525-256-49-34.
Facility – refers to any hotel property owned by Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o.
Entrepreneur – refers to IHG® Hotels Limited.
Employee – refers to any person employed at the hotel, regardless of the legal basis for their work at the hotel.
Minor – refers to a person who has not yet reached the age of 18.
Child’s guardian – refers to the child’s legal representative: parent, guardian, foster parent, or temporary guardian.
Foreign adult person – refers to any person over 18 years old who is not the child’s parent or legal guardian.
Coordinator – refers to an employee from the human resources department.
Child abuse – refers to behavior that may constitute the commission of an illegal act to the detriment of the child by any person, including a member of the facility’s staff, or a threat to the child’s well-being, including neglect; any intentional or unintentional act or omission by an individual, institution, or society that violates the rights, freedoms, and personal goods of children and/or disrupts their optimal development.
At every stage of applying the procedures outlined in the Standards, it is important to remember that they may cause inconvenience to hotel guests. Therefore, employees should show understanding for guests’ reactions and explain the necessity—both factual and legal—of implementing these procedures at the hotel. However, the guest’s reaction should not be a reason to deviate from the procedures.
All procedures provided for in the Standards should be applied in proportion to the situation at hand and in a rational manner.
Hotel employees should take into account the emotional and intellectual development level of minors and, in cases where the minor is disabled or has special educational needs, also consider that circumstance.
II. EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS TO WORK WITH CHILDREN AND THE RULES FOR SAFE EMPLOYEE-CHILD RELATIONS
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB commits to educating its employees on the circumstances indicating that a child staying at the facility may be abused and on how to quickly and appropriately respond to such situations. The facility may carry out this education through various forms of training, such as external training, internal training, e-learning, educational materials developed by the hotel and available to employees, or educational materials freely available from other organizations.
Each employee, before being allowed to work, is familiarized with the Standards for the Protection of Minors, which is confirmed by their statement and commitment to adhere to the rules and procedures outlined in this document.
People working with children must demonstrate in their employment history that they have never harmed a child.
Every person hired/delegated by Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB to work with children must be checked in the Register of Sexual Offenders, which applies also to underage employees (below 18 years old).
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB commits to educating its employees about the circumstances indicating that a child may be abused at the facility and how to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations. The facility may carry out this education through various forms of training, such as external training, internal training, e-learning, educational materials developed by the hotel and available to employees, or educational materials freely available from other organizations.
Each employee, before being allowed to work, is familiarized with the Standards for the Protection of Minors, which is confirmed by their statement and commitment to adhere to the rules and procedures outlined in this document.
Employees working with children are subject to periodic training, which is documented by the employer.
Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB commits to considering the situation of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs, adjusting the guidelines in Annex 14 to the specific nature and scope of the facility’s operations.
When using services from external entities, Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB includes in the agreement with the entity a provision that will enable Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB to enforce the appropriate standard for verifying the employees of the entity in terms of their safety for children. This provision will allow Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB to control the fulfillment of this obligation, with the risk of immediate termination of the agreement and a contractual penalty or other sanctions for non-compliance with the agreement conditions in this regard.
All employees of Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB, including other adults who have contact with children on the premises, if this contact occurs with the facility’s consent, are required to follow the Rules of Safe Employee-Child Relations.
The main principle of all actions taken by employees who have contact with children at the Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB is to treat the child with respect and consider their dignity and needs.
It is unacceptable for employees and other adults to use any form of violence against children or to go beyond interactions justified by their duties at the Hotel.
III. RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING A MINOR STAYING IN A HOTEL AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ADULT WITH WHOM THEY ARE STAYING
Identification of the minor and their relationship with the adult with whom they are staying at the Hotel is carried out by the hotel reception staff. They take all possible steps to identify the child and their relationship with the accompanying adult. Such identification is based on the documents of the minor and the adult accompanying them at the Hotel, and if these are not available, it is based on a conversation with the adult and the minor. If the adult is not the parent or legal guardian of the minor, the adult should be asked to provide a document, such as a written consent from the parent for the adult to travel with the child, notarized by a notary, or a consent signed by the parent of the child, including the child’s details, their address, the parent’s contact number, and the identification number or PESEL number of the person entrusted by the parent to care for the child. If the adult does not possess any of the above-mentioned documents, they should be asked to fill out the appropriate statement according to the model prepared by the hotel. The statement should contain the child’s and adult’s details, along with the relationship between the child and the adult. If the adult is not the parent or legal guardian of the child, they should declare that the parents/legal guardians have given consent for the adult to care for the child.
If, during the procedure described in section 1, the reception staff has any doubts regarding the relationship between the minor and the adult with whom they are staying at the hotel, they should notify the Hotel Manager/supervisor and security staff. Both the minor and the adult should remain under observation by the hotel staff during this time.
During the conversation with the minor, special attention should be paid to ensuring that the minor has the opportunity to speak freely and without constraint, especially that the adult accompanying the minor does not answer questions asked to the minor. If the adult in any way hinders communication with the minor or exerts pressure on them, even through their mere presence, the adult should be asked to leave the room while the conversation with the minor takes place. Additionally, another hotel employee should be present during the conversation with the minor.
IV. PROCEDURE IN THE CASE OF CIRCUMSTANCES INDICATING THE ABUSE OF A CHILD BY AN ADULT
If a situation arises where the employee has reasonable suspicion that a child staying at the hotel is or has been abused, they should immediately notify their supervisor/decision-maker, who will notify the police. In case of a danger to the child’s safety, the employee who has reasonable suspicion of the abuse should immediately contact the police by calling 112 and describing the circumstances of the incident.
Reasonable suspicion of the abuse of the minor occurs, in particular, when the hotel employee has observed circumstances that may indicate abuse, when the minor has visible signs that could suggest abuse, or when the minor themselves reports abuse.
Efforts should be made to hinder or even prevent the child and the person suspected of abusing the child from leaving the premises.
In a situation defined by the Criminal Procedure Code, a citizen’s arrest may be made of the suspected person. In such a case, until the police arrive, the detained person will remain under the supervision of security staff or other hotel employees who can carry out such actions without endangering their health or life.
In every case, the safety of the child must be ensured. The child should, if possible, remain under the care of an employee until the police arrive.
After notifying the police, hotel employees should ensure that the minor and the adult who may have committed the offense do not leave the hotel before the police arrive, and that potential evidence of the crime is not destroyed (e.g., securing surveillance camera footage).
In urgent situations, every hotel employee is authorized and obligated to notify the police.
V. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE CHILD PROTECTION STANDARDS
The Hotel Manager appoints and defines the scope of responsibilities and tasks related to preparing employees to apply the Child Protection Standards, the principles for preparing employees for their implementation, and the method of documenting these actions in Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Hotel Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Hotel Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB, and places the contact details in a place easily accessible to staff and hotel guests, including children.
The coordinator mentioned in the previous section conducts a monitoring and evaluation of the Child Protection Standards once every two years.
The monitoring and evaluation include verifying the implementation of the Child Protection Standards, responding to signals of violations of the rules and procedures, and proposing changes to the document, especially in terms of adapting them to current needs and compliance with applicable regulations.
V. FINAL PROVISIONS
The Child Protection Standards will come into force on August 15, 2024.
The Child Protection Standards are made available to all employees by placing them on the website of Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Hotel Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Hotel Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB under the “About the hotel” tab and in the Human Resources Department.
The Child Protection Standards are made available to adult guests of Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Hotel Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Hotel Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB by placing them on the website of Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Hotel Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Hotel Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB under the “About the hotel” tab and in the Security Department.
The Child Protection Standards are made available in a simplified and understandable version for children staying at Ghelamco Hotel Sp. z o.o. / Hotel Crowne Plaza Warsaw – The HUB / Hotel Holiday Inn Express Warsaw – The HUB in a place easily accessible and visible to them.